Hoist and His Patient
by Butch 2.0
Summary: Hoist is knocked out while trying to leave Cybertron. His time in stasis brings his mind to run through events critical to the start of the war. Occurs parallel to the 'Path of Omega Supreme' in the same story arc.
1. Sandstorm

The launching of the ship caught the attention of two more Autobots nearby. It did not stop them, it only reminded them of their current mission. The Cybertronian crane and the Cybertronian tugger waved on a number of lookalike Autobot refugees. They had to get to the last shuttle. One had broken down and they were taking the opportunity to add more Autobots to its number. Of course a shuttle like that would be a perfect target for Shockwave's drone army.

"Too slow, too slow, my dear Hoist. Those drones will be on us in no time," yelped Grapple.

"I know it, Grapple, but we can't let our friends become the last casualties of the war for Cybertron," responded Hoist with cheer not matching the situation.

"By becoming the last casualties ourselves? Good Primus, Hoist, I'm an artist, not a warbot," rounded Grapple. He held his neutron assault rifle down. Ahead of him he could see the Decepticons approaching like a plague of locusts. They twinkled against the dark sky of dead Cybertron.

"We all have become soldiers, Grapple. Perhaps later we can return to other things. When Optimus said we were all equal beings, that meant we all had to hold the assault rifle to defend that fact," answered Hoist, who also held a neutron assault rifle.

"Yes, I wonder who gave him that idea," muttered Grapple. They came under fire from the flying Decepticon drones. The last of the yellow generic Autobots entered the ship. The drones were pounding it hard.

"We've got to get them off the ground," said Hoist from behind some cover. He peaked around his rubble wall and fired a few rounds.

"Not likely in this mess," responded Grapple. He tried to wave off the shuttle from his position, but the generics probably didn't know what he was doing. Grapple waved more furiously, but no engines could be heard. The Decepticons kept up the assault. The shuttle door had been closed, but now opened. That was not what he had meant.

"Grapple, go get them out of here," yelled Hoist.

"Sorry, Hoist, but this artist does not forget his best patron," called Grapple.

Hoist looked at the shuttle and then looked at the Decepticons. The mere foot soldiers were giving way to a marauder tank. That tank would make short work of the shuttle. Grapple would not leave him, he would not leave Grapple. They were all going to die right there. He could hear the ominous hiss as the marauder tank charged its main gun. Just a moment more, and then…

Bang! Hoist looked up. That didn't sound like a marauder tank cannon. He peered over his wall and saw the marauder smoking and trying to locate another target, and that target was… a VTOL Cybertronian helicopter. Hoist watched as the helicopter turned into an armored car of some kind and ram into the marauder, powered by massive back wheels. That seemed to finish off the tank's weapons.

Sandstorm transformed and started firing on the drones with his rifle. Ultra Magnus had been right, there was more for the Wreckers to do on this planet. He was fortunate to have come across Grapple and Hoist. The three of them now eliminated the air drones. The tank's supporting ground drones kept advancing.

Sandstorm looked back at the other two and winked. "There's only one way we are getting out of here alive."

"What do you, mean, friend?" asked Hoist, confused.

Sandstorm transformed into his helicopter mode and used the air currents to make the drone debris into a flying trash storm. Then Hoist and Grapple could only watch as the debris storm headed toward the ground drones. That were a few moments of chaos, separated by a few more moments of rifle fire and the screech of metal hitting metal.

Hoist ran toward the debris cloud. He did not notice Grapple with him. The debris settled down to reveal the Decepticon drones fallen all around. In the middle was robot mode Sandstorm. He was in terrible shape, but seemed pleased himself.

"Why didn't you ask for backup?" asked Hoist.

"Wreckers don't ask for backup…they ask for clean…" stammered Sandstorm and then he entered stasis.

"We've got to do something for him," said Hoist, trying to pick up the limp body.

"No facilities here. No safety, either," said Grapple, holding the other side of Sandstorm as the two tried to make their way back toward the still grounded shuttle.

"The shuttle then. We could put him on the shuttle," said Hoist.

"Then we'd be stuck here, Hoist. Those generics are packed in there like sardines. A wounded bot would take up any room for you and me," muttered Grapple.

"But we can make that choice, he cannot," answered Hoist. "Help me load him in."

The two loaded Sandstorm in the shuttle and gave orders for the generics to leave Cybertron. The engines fired and the ship may its way off planet. The generic pilot turned to his generic co-pilot and said, "I ain't ever fighting a war again. Never. You couldn't make me."

"Me neither," said the co-pilot. The shuttle soon left visual range and the two Autobots who had done so much to launch it were now stuck on the planet they had tried to leave. They began walking back toward Iacon. There was no real reason to go there particularly, but it was natural for them to do.

Hoist turned to Grapple and said, "Well, I'm glad that's over." Then all went black, and Hoist found himself as if in a dream. He could not hear Grapple shouting his name or any Decepticons either. He could hear his name being spoken though…_Hoist…Hoist…Hoist!_


	2. The Patient

"Hoist!" said the voice, clearer this time. "Command wants you to rehabilitate a unit that has acted improperly with the laws of Cybertron."

"Command? I'm just a physician, sir. I'm not trained in psychiatry," Hoist told the voice in the radio communicator at his desk.

"You are medical class Trail-related subclass, are you not?" said the voice harshly.

"Yes, sir. But I'm a technician by practice. Shouldn't you be talking to Rung?" asked Hoist, quizzically.

"Autobot, you are a member of the medical caste and thus qualified for any directive that Sentinel Prime wishes to dispose of a medical nature. If Sentinel Prime were to tell you to find a cure for gamma radiation, you would do it. Can you cure gamma radiation?" said the voice.

"No," puzzled Hoist.

"But you would if Sentinel Prime told you to, wouldn't you?" asked the voice.

"Yes," sighed Hoist, giving up.

"Good, now we need you to rehabilitate this Autobot for us," said the voice.

"I will," agreed Hoist.

The voice changed, becoming somewhat gentler. It said, "Good. Between you and me, this was a personal request of Council Member Halogen, so it would seem that he has some faith in your abilities. Even if you do not. Your patient will arrive today. Prowl out."

Hoist leaned back from his desk. How was he going to do this? He shoved that thought aside. He would be himself. He could not help but wonder why someone had not been chosen, like Rung? The caste system was somewhat restrictive. For instance he knew a labor Autobot named Ratchet who had an affinity for Autobot biology that he would never use as an Iron-class laborer. Then there was his friend and fellow medical technician Trailbreaker, who was more into force fields than physiology. Yet society had decreed Trailbreaker a medic and Ratchet a laborer.

That society had also decreed that Hoist now perform therapy on this mysterious Autobot. Hoist left his office, knowing that the Autobot in question would be waiting in the psychiatric ward of the prison complex, not the medical complex. What else had that guardian caste member Prowl said? That's right, Halogen had requested him specifically.

At the top of the food chain was Sentinel Prime. A Prime had led the Autobots as long as anyone could remember, and with him was the mystic Matrix of Leadership. The Primes even predated the caste system itself, the term coming from the original Thirteen Transformers who all bore that title. Sentinel Prime was the great hero of the Second Cybertronian War. He had led the Autobots to victory over the Decepticons, although those names meant nothing then. The Decepticons were merely war units and the Autobots worker units.

Sentinel Prime had maintained the peace by producing the convoluted caste system. His intention was keep the newly christened Decepticons stuck and weak within society. They occupied the lowest castes. The Autobots faired somewhat better, but Sentinel Prime was paranoid that ambition might strike some lowly robot and send them back to war so the castes were kept exclusive. A protoform was assigned a caste at sparking, and they kept that caste until they went offline.

There was no social mobility. The only way to secure a good caste was to be born after a high-ranking member had died. Without war, that happened little. Sentinel Prime had gone so far as to encourage a belief in 'resparkification' or the belief that if one fulfilled his caste duty the best he could, his spark might be rewarded by Primus with a better life 'next time.'

There were those in the higher classes, the guardian and scientist classes, that argued for reforms or even dissolution of the caste system. The told Sentinel Prime time and time again that there were no Decepticons until he had himself created them. They pointed out that the Decepticons had been designed for war and were now being marginalized and given the toughest and dirtiest duties. This was a recipe for disaster they said. Halogen was one of these. Like any other Autobot councilor, he had no meaning to give these villains rights. He did believe that they needed opportunities.

Hoist was now outside where he see construction going up in the distance. Sentinel Prime had ordered the renovation of the Crystal City. He thought the crystal design would improve energon efficiency. Actually, Sentinel Prime had a far different purpose for putting the Crystal City there that Hoist did not know about. Its design would dissipate energy all right, but that energy would be coming _internally. _Sentinel Prime had discovered the location of the Dark Spark there during the Second Cybertronian War. The city's crystal nature would prevent the ambitious from finding it, and Sentinel had ordered his greatest soldier, Omega Supreme, to guard the thing. Omega also held the Omega key to the core, so Sentinel had plenty of faith in the hulking giant.

Speaking of Omega, Hoist could see him quite clearly from where he stood. The Guardian robots, different from the Guardian caste, had been the last line of defense for the Quintessons. When Alpha Trion had defeated the Quintessons, there had been some talk of deactivating all of them. Alpha Trion would not hear of it, but now Sentinel Prime was using them as his personal guard and guarantors. Hoist walked into the detention facility. The building recognized his caste and let him in.

From there, Hoist turned through a couple of bleak corridors, and then came into a room where his assignment was waiting for him. He was seated in one corner of the room. Hoist nodded at the prison guard, and then entered. He took a seat on the other end of the room and stared at his new charge, his first as a counselor.

His charge stared back. Finally he nervously spoke, "Counselor, I am…" he started.

"No names," said Hoist as he shook his head. He remembered that much from what training he had had.

"As you wish," responded the subject.

Hoist activated the recorder on the chair. "Now if you would state your caste and primary occupation, please."

"Scholar class. I was an archivist," answered the subject.

"An archivist?" asked Hoist. His tone remained friendly, but he wondered what an archivist could have done to offend the laws of Cybertron.

"Yes, sir. I _was_ primarily an archivist, but in the incident in question I was serving as a mentor," said the subject.

"Do you normally serve as a mentor?" asked Hoist. Mentors were more personalized teachers. Given the subject's background as an archivist, it was likely he was mentoring one of a higher caste.

"No, but it is my caste's duty to perform that function," answered the subject.

"I see," said Hoist, wondering where he had heard that one before. "So you were a mentor, what brought you here to a Cybertronian prison and to an Autobot counselor?"

"That's hard to say. Even I do not know all the details," answered the Autobot, looking to the side.

"Well, we aren't going to get very far this way. Would you prefer that I look up your service report on the matter?" asked Hoist.

"No…well, maybe. I never did get a good reason for my suspension and incarceration. Just some official sounding nonsense," said the Autobot, his curiosity aroused.

"Well, I will have to consult your information later. There are no terminals in here. Except for my recorder, these meetings are supposed to be private," said Hoist. What next, he wondered. He couldn't end the session like this. "Well, let's get some background. When were you sparked?" asked Hoist.

"I was sparked in the spark boom after the Second Cybertronian War, when Primus tried to make up for the many who died in that conflict. I was decreed a scholar when I came online, and worked in the archives of Iacon. I studied many things there, including the wars that had been fought and the rise of the caste system. I also studied the period of colonialism, when our people went out and founded civilization on new worlds. I did all this, and from time to time the council would request my help on some historical question or another," said the Autobot. There was no energy in his voice as he spoke.

"Ah, a spark boomer! I too was a spark boomer. Sometimes it is hard to find those who weren't," said Hoist. "So what sparked the jump to mentoring?"

"I wasn't given much choice. Sigil had just passed from the council to join the Matrix, and so the next spark was made into a member of the Guardian class to one day replace him. It turned out the spark was female, and she would need to be briefed as quickly as possible on her new life. There was no one on the Council who could do, so they thought of me. As mentoring was a duty of my caste, I could not refuse. So I came to be mentor to Flareup," said the Autobot, somewhat regretfully toward the end.

"So is that how you know Halogen?" asked Hoist.

"No, I have never had dealings with councilor Halogen, sir," answered the Autobot, seemingly put off by the question. He stared at the reflective part of his chest, thinking.

"No bother. Where were we? Something about Flareup, the female Autobot. Right, now what was the problem with Flareup?" asked Hoist.

"There was nothing wrong with Flareup," snorted the Autobot. "Granted, she took Sigil's death personally and it seemed to hurt her. She was much like any other inexperienced Autobot, innocent and pure, without an ill thought for anyone in the world."

"Did you have problems with her being a female?" asked Hoist.

"What is that supposed to mean?" countered the Autobot, confused.

"Female Autobots are fairly uncommon and somewhat sheltered. Did you resent that she was going to be a councilor someday, while you the all-knowing male archivist were stuck in the position of preparing her for something you could better do?" asked Hoist.

"No, no, nothing like that," the Autobot's tone revealed a fair amount of terror.

"Well, okay. If not chauvinism and not classism, I am running out of isms. What could be so bad that you did with a female…" started Hoist. "No, no, not THAT. It is forbidden between the castes, you as archivist and mentor should know better than anyone."

"I am not following," answered the Autobot.

Hoist wasn't sure he believed that. "I am talking about love. That strange force that we Cybertronians barely understand and rarely illuminates our lives because male-female relationships are so few. The thing that is so rare that it is supposed to inspire Primus to create new sparks…" he said.

"And those sparks must be pure members of a single caste and so romance is forbidden among the various castes. I get it. I know," said the Autobot. "The archives are full of literature on the subject."

"Was that it, then? An affair? An illicit liaison? Is there a Primus half-breed spark out there lacking true meaning in life?" asked Hoist.

"No, no, no. There was no affair. There was not even a relationship, strictly speaking," responded an exasperated Autobot.

"Then what is the problem? You weren't thrown in these warrens for nothing. Something must have happened," said Hoist. "Did you make a pass at her? Signal your interest? You were near her quite a lot. She depended on you, and you delighted in her, one thing leads to another…"

"No, it was not like that at all. I didn't do anything. She said such strange things to me and behaved so oddly when I was around. She took the opportunity to embrace me when circumstances allowed. If there was a love affair, it was all one-sided and I had little to do with it," answered the Autobot.

"Which brings to my question, why are we here? If you did everything right and she didn't do anything wrong, how are we here?" asked Hoist.

"I thought she was getting around to it. Our mentorship program ended and I returned to the archives, but I was afraid that wasn't the end of it. Since she was no longer my mentee and nothing had happened, I wrote a letter warning her not to misinterpret our relationship as anything more than it was. I also suggested that her acting on it would destroy my career as an archivist," said the Autobot, listlessly.

"So now we are at the event at last. This letter then is what brought you here?" asked Hoist.

"Yes. I was summarily imprisoned under an inappropriate interaction between the castes charge. To this day, no has satisfactorily explained that one to me," said the Autobot.

"Well, the caste system rules all as you should have known, and appears did know. No communication between a Guardian and a scholar of different genders is safe. Still she must have been pretty explicit to warrant that response from you," noted Hoist.

The Autobot remained silent, staring away for the moment.

"She ever do anything that you believed crossed the line?" asked Hoist, wondering whether or not he could believe this archivist. "A kiss? A truly inappropriate touch? A question about whether you meet at an oil house later?"

"No," answered the Autobot, as if knowing his answer was unsatisfactory.

"So what was it then?" asked Hoist.

"It was subtle. The way she talked, and the way she looked at me. There was something behind those things," said the Autobot.

"Are you sure there was something behind those things?" asked Hoist. The intercom system buzzed. The prison would be closing soon. It could not be helped. "I guess we'll have to call it a day, then. We will continue this tomorrow," he said.

"Thank you. Primus go with you," said the Autobot, his voice still in a downcast manner. He left the room.

Hoist watched him go. A strange one, that one. Got involved with a female Autobot in way that he can't explain or refused to get involved with a female Autobot who was not perhaps as transparent to her affections as the archivist perceived. There were some missing pieces to this issue.


	3. Word of Honor

Hoist wondered. There many things that didn't make sense. First there was an archivist, the one group on Cybertron whose job it was to follow rules, clearly testing them. Why? One opinion he knew he would not get was Flareup's. If she had completed her mentee program, she was a junior counselor now. Hoist had no authority to question the Council or its members except the right of formal appeal.

Hoist returned to the medical lab where his therapist clearance could access the records that had so seemingly confused his patient. He found his station and he downloaded the appropriate file. The data was redacted to hide names, but Hoist knew enough to get around that. As he read he became irritated, and the more he read he became even more irritated. Finally he turned from his data port and walked out toward the medical quarters building and rest.

The next day, Hoist was back in the visitation room with the patient. He really wondered what Halogen was doing to him by giving him this, particularly when he was not a practiced therapist. Because he was not a practiced therapist, he turned on the Autobot sitting across the way.

"You lied to me. I read your report, you were condemned by six members of the Guardian Caste, but not for this strange back-and-forth that you described. You were punished for trying to engage in romantic activities with a female Autobot of another caste! Your letter of refusal was a desperate love letter, according to six Guardians! At least one acknowledged great shame in this incident. What do you say to that? Choose your answer carefully, I can leave you to rot in here," said Hoist. He delivered the passage so dryly and without emotion.

"Only that those six did not write the letter nor care to ask me what it was about. How should they know? I was not writing to them, after all. Besides, the truth is there. Nothing happened, and I had just insured nothing would happen. The romance was only in their minds, not on the page," said the archivist, growing stubborn.

"Well, the guardians quoted that they were lucky nothing happened," said Hoist. He retained his detachment even though he was saying hard things.

"Luck had little to do with it. Flareup didn't cause any stirs because I did not let her make those mistakes," commented the Autobot, clearly becoming agitated with the interrogation.

"You realize that your actions don't make any sense in any other context, right? All this stuff you've told me about looking out for her interest and then writing this inflammatory letter doesn't fit. The one thing that makes it fit is love. You loved her and wanted to be with her. You knew it was impossible so you tried to kill that love only you couldn't bring yourself to do it with that letter. Love links all these things. It fits you seeing what you wanted to see and you thumbing your nose at the rules. What could possibly fit better than love?" asked Hoist. One false step and Hoist would not be able to save him. Halogen or no Halogen.

"Honor. It all comes down to honor. That has been the guiding principle of my life. Maybe it doesn't easily fit in the Cybertron that we have built, but for me it is there. I wasn't worried about my job, I was worried about her.

She clearly got more out our association than I did. If that was the case then I owed her the truth, and not some delusion. I didn't write the letter to scare her and I didn't write it to pursue her. I wrote it to show how much she meant to me. Not as much as she may have wanted, but more than nothing. Clearly more than the Council was willing to accept. We have to honor and trust each other if we want to get through life together as Autobots. I trusted and honored her. I did not love her. The letter says as much.

I do not know how the Council came to its decision, except as a knee jerk reaction. There is much truth they chose to ignore in the letter and in my character. I guess the Council's lack of familiarity with my personal honor probably did not help," said the Autobot.

Hoist was left baffled. He had thought he had figured this clever archivist out when he had seen the prisoner report last night. Strangely he found himself believing the figure in front of him. If the Autobot had been going to confess, it was better in these rehabilitations to just be done with it. Yet he stubbornly refused. Why?

Hoist then heard that word sneak into his head again. Honor. Hoist realized that the subject would never apologize to anyone for the incident. Well, maybe Flareup, since she had clearly gotten this ball rolling on him.

For the first time Hoist understood why Halogen wanted him on this case. A trained psychiatrist like Rung would have tried to break the Autobot and lobotomize him of his honor in order to rehabilitate him. Halogen wanted this Autobot saved. And only someone as open-minded and easy-going as Hoist could make that happen.

"Honor, hmm. I'm going to hold you to that. I'm writing a work therapy order for you. It'll be labor and you'll have to wear this tracking anklet. However it will be better for you to readjust to society this way. It will be hard at first for an archivist, but you'll manage. I'll see you from time to time to monitor your progress," said Hoist. He rose from his chair and walked over to where he could stare the Autobot right in the eye. "Good luck," he said, patting him on the shoulder and then walked out.

The Autobot walked toward the guard. "Follow me if you will," said the guard. He led the Autobot to another room where he was fitted with his tracking anklet.

"You're getting off easy," noted the guard as he undid the stasis cuffs on the Autobot's wrists.

"What happens now?" asked the archivist.

"You report to the dock yard. They need help loading and unloading the energon and facilitating trade between the cities and stuff," said the guard.

"Thank you," said the archivist. He walked outside the prison and felt his first freedom in weeks. He couldn't help but be self-conscious. How well did everyone know about his incident? How poorly informed were they about his motives? Such thoughts kept the archvist on his toes as he made his way to the dockyard.


	4. The Dockyard

Strange these customs, thought the archivist. In normal times an archivist would never consort with laborers. Yet it was common for rehabilitated prisoners to serve with the lower castes to remind them how much they had lost. The archivist hoped that he did not embarrass himself while at work.

He approached the dockyard where there was plenty of activity. He noted a red and black Autobot that seemed to be in charge and went to present himself to him.

The foreman looked at him with a strange face and then asked, "What do you want?"

"Prisoner rehabilitation work release. I was sent here by the corrections department," answered the Autobot, as he handed his work order notice to the foreman.

"One of those, huh. Well you can skip your sad story, pal. I don't care what you've done up to now, just what you do from here out. I'll treat you fair, that's my only promise. You screw us up and you can tell the warden hello for me," said the red and black Autobot.

"Yes, sir," said the archivist.

"Don't call me that, I work for a livin. My name's Ironhide, what's yours?" asked Ironhide.

"Orion Pax," responded the archivist.

"Well ain't that fancy. Well we'll start you at dock 2. Got a shipment due from the Sea of Rust, assuming the rust didn't get it. Hey, Ratchet! Take this feller down to dock 2, will ya? Appreciate it, Ratchet," said Ironhide. "Ratchet will get you squared away down on dock 2. If you have any questions he'll straighten you out."

Ratchet appeared and looked at his new charge. "You friend do not belong here. But come along," said the white Autobot.

"Where do you belong?" asked Orion Pax.

"Belonging is a waste of time on Cybertron. No one 'belongs' anywhere, but they're told where to go from the moment they are sparked. Remember that when you get back to the high and mighty," answered Ratchet. He navigated through the work area like a trained pro, until he and Orion were looking at Dock 2, a hemispherical storage center with a river of ammonia behind it.

"Gears! Hey Gears! Ironhide sent this one down to you special. A parolee, courtesy of their omniscience, the Council," said Ratchet to a blue and red Autobot clearly trying to organize a handful of others.

"Like I don't have enough to do," muttered Gears, playing with a manifest.

"At least he's a cute one," remarked Arielle. The pink female Autobot was just finished with a load of energon and was waiting for the next load with a couple of others. She was a more substantial design than Flareup had been, as she was meant to transform into a bigger vehicle. She also had none of Flareup's gentle innocence, as she had been a laborer as befit her caste.

"Cute? Then you show him the ropes. I got things to do. Dion, get off your rump and help her. Is that all Ratchet?" asked Gears.

"Oh, yeah. I am sure this will prove quite interesting," noted Ratchet as he transformed and went off to another area of the dockyard.

"Nah, probably not," replied Gears as went to direct the next incoming energon transport, which would no doubt crash if he was not there. Or maybe even if he was there.

"So what is your name, parolee?" asked Dion. The yellow Autobot looked at the parolee carefully. "It has been a while since I have seen one of you."

"My name is Orion Pax," responded Orion.

"Orion, that's a pretty name," interjected Arielle. "What did you do to end up in jail, Orion?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," said Orion. His shyness was taking hold, it had been magnified by his recent experience.

"Well, I'd rather show you what we do here," answered Dion. "You can be interrogated by Arielle later. Trust me, she'll remember."

Dion walked Orion through the steps of unloading energon and then the two showed Orion the refinery at the end of the dock. Orion grew more comfortable around the two. Arielle showed him all the little tricks of the trade. Dion explained everything so clearly, Orion wondered if the caste system was truly broken. Between Ironhide, Dion, and Arielle, there was a lot potential being wasted out here in the position of common laborers. He did not include himself in that category, not yet.

The day passed quicker than Orion thought it would and the horn sounded. The Autobots started to filter out here and there to experience the thrills of nighttime Iacon. Orion had never been in this part of Iacon before. As an archivist, he had kept to the more sheltered parts of the city. The prison would expect him to check in, but he did not want to go right now.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Arielle as Orion stared over the river.

Startled, Orion looked at the pink Autobot in surprise. She sounded as if he was supposed to be heading somewhere.

"Don't just stand there like a dummy. It's a gladiator tournament day. They are going to face off down at the arena. Dion and I are headed down there. Why don't you go with us?" suggested Arielle.

"Alright," smiled Orion and he proceeded toward the arena with Arielle and Dion.

The three walked up the lamp-lit streets of Cybertron and shown found that the arena was bustling with activity. The gladiators were out in front of the arena meeting with fans. Based on their profession, it might be the last time that they ever got to do it. Some gladiators were virtually ignored, but one seemed to get lots of attention.

"It's Megatronus!" shouted one of the crowd. A small robot with a face shield tried to keep the crowd back.

The tall gray gladiator barely stood taller than the crowd, but one could see he loved the adulation. Orion did not notice Arielle and Dion leave him for the ticket line. He turned away from the spectacle that was Megatronus. He noticed another gladiator that attracted no crowd. He was burly and rough. Orion could see why he had survived as a gladiator. Orion walked over to him.

"You are a strong Decepticon," commented Orion.

"I am no Decepticon," answered the gladiator. He pointed at his chest which sure enough bore an Autobot insignia, though the wear of many battles partially hid it.

"What are you doing here? I thought all gladiators were low class Decepticons," responded Orion.

"Not all of us, though many are. My spark was found not have a destiny because it was inspired by a mixed caste relationship," answered the gladiator. His voice had the tone of a scientist, more than a warrior, Orion thought. Yet this way of dealing with mixed sparks was new to him. He had never known that the Council would have agreed to THAT.

"But this is a death sentence, for a wrong that was not your fault," said Orion.

"That is what he said, too. He also is one of us," said the gladiator pointing a finger at Megatronus. "All of the time he harps on how we were mistreated, mixed sparks and Decepticons alike. I am too interested in surviving. The Decepticons were born for this, but we mixed sparks are thrown into it almost helpless. My size has kept me alive this long, and I hope longer."

"Surely something can be done for you," said Orion.

"Ha, you speak sweet words now, but the Council has no heart. The only way to beat them is to have no heart either. I've won so far," answered the gladiator.

"What is your name, gladiator?" asked Orion.

"Grimlock. Though it makes little difference," said Grimlock, still leaning against the arena wall.

"It makes a difference to me. I shall cheer for you," answered Orion.

There was a tap on his shoulder. It was Dion. "Orion, we need to hurry or someone will take our seats."

Orion noticed that Dion completely ignored Grimlock. Even the laborers had some caste consciousness. For Dion had implicitly ignored Grimlock, has a social superior. These gladiators were truly the lowest of the low. They were a tool for execution of Decepticons and wrongly inspired sparks. The Council was committing mass murder in the name of entertainment. If not for Dion and Arielle, he would left then and there. Keeping the laborers appeased and killing the Decepticon and mixed spark threat off at the same time. How had it come to this?

Dion took him to their rather uncomfortable bench seats. He was seated between Dion and Arielle. He wondered how that had happened, since Dion had gone first. Orion could not focus on the first match. He kept seeing Grimlock in his thoughts. There was a time when gladiators were revered in Cybertronian history. Prima, who had led the rebellion against the Quintessons had been a gladiator. So too had Sentinel Prime, victor of the Second Cybertronian War. There was something ironic that the cauldron of liberty was now a spectator sport of an increasingly tyrannical Council.

"Did you see it?" asked Arielle, whispering into Orion's ear. Orion snapped to.

"See what?" asked Orion.

"Megatronus, he…he…_flew!_" denoted Arielle, obviously impressed.

"What? Autobots can't fly," responded Orion. Not without mechanical aids that is. The literature was very clear on that.

"Of course not, Megatronus is a Decepticon, silly," said Arielle.

_No, he's not,_ thought Orion. Unless Grimlock had lied to him, which it was unlikely that Grimlock would have cared enough to do such a thing. Orion looked down where Megatronus strutted in the arena for the crowd. The bodies of four opponents were there. All bore Decepticon insignias. Someone was trying to kill the gladiator. Orion could hear him speaking.

"Yes, my friends. THAT is true power, not power from birthright. Power earned by talent and experience. You could share this power with me. We could remake Cybertron into what it was always meant to be and you my loyal fans could be where you've always deserved. Truly free and truly powerful. Join me and let us make this vision grow!" roared Megatronus to the cheering throngs in the crowd.

The other robot remerged and lifted Megatronus's arm in triumph. Orion wondered, how much talk was this gladiator? How much did he intend to do? There was only one way to find out, and Orion knew it. Freedom and merit appealed to his sense of fairness and honor, but returning Cybertron to what it had always been? Cybertron was developed as a war factory, powered by Primus himself and run by the Quintessons before the First Cybertronian War. The one advantage of the Sentinel Prime regime was the absence of war and chaos. Did Megatronus mean to return Cybertron down that dark and ugly path.

"Excuse me," Orion said to Arielle as he stood and walked toward the exit.

"Where are you going?" she asked as she reached out to hold him back.

"I am going to clear my head," answered Orion.

"Liar," answered Arielle, but she made no further effort to stop him.


	5. Megatronus

Orion found his way to where the tunnels would take the gladiators back to the pits where they were detained. He could hear the event still going on in the arena above. Then he heard the footsteps, big ominous footsteps.

The first thing he saw was the smaller robot with the Decepticon insignia emblazoned on a panel on his chest. The robot looked at Orion and put a hand back to stop Megatronus and another hand to prevent Orion from moving forward.

"Enough, Soundwave, it is one mere fan. He cannot possible harm me," said Megatronus and Soundwave stood down. "What do you want that you risk the pits of the gladiators to find?" he asked.

Orion noted that Soundwave's gaze had not left him, but he turned to Megatronus. The gladiator was well built, and his right arm bore the markings of a weapon attachment. Some large gun was sometimes mounted there. Orion looked at the eyes of the gladiator. "You talk of freedom, and that is honorable. You talk of change and I feel glad. But your methods and manners are violent, and you speak from the platform of an entertainer. Do you believe the things you say, or is it all an act?" he asked.

"Oh, I mean every word. This planet lurches under slavery that it does not fully understand. Change will not come because we wish it so," answered Megatronus.

"Yet the laborers listen to you largely because you excite them. You will not find them so eager to fight as you do," suggested Orion.

"The masses require determined leadership, which I can provide," said Megatronus.

"Yes, you may prod them. But will that not lead to simply more deaths? Is there not some peaceful means you might try?" asked Orion.

"I have neither the stomach nor patience for politics. You seem to know much, friend. You should know that a slave like myself cannot get the council to listen," said Megatronus.

"There must be a way. Perhaps you could gain the ear of a council member? They could act on your behalf," suggested Orion.

"Teasing me with dreams will not make them real. What is real is what I do with these two hands here. They are my messengers. Sometimes the message is life and sometimes it is death," said Megatronus.

"I wonder which is more prolific. Most laborers probably do not know the root of your name, Megatronus, but I do. It is the name of the Fallen himself, before he was exiled and defeated by the other original Primes at the dawn of history. He rebelled against Primus and the others and chose the path of Unicron. What do you wish to gain from his name?" asked Orion.

"I wish to gain his tenacity, his willingness to overthrow the system and bring change. It goes no further than that," said Megatronus.

"Given your nature and reputation, I wonder," said Orion.

"Look, our people need liberation. I need good help to achieve this. You seem to know the history of our world. I could use an advisor like you," said Megatronus.

"Your path is too gray for me to properly judge right now," answered Orion.

"Well, I should like to meet again some time, say after next week's match?" suggested Megatronus.

"I accept," answered Orion. There was usefulness in this gladiator, if he could be brought to listen to reason. As Megatronus and Soundwave marched by, Orion looked one last time at the pair. A pair of rejects, according to society. An unrepentant war machine and an ill-conceived spark. Orion knew that there must be a lot more like them. How much danger was there?

After a week had passed, Orion had attended a couple of Megatronus' meetings where he had seen Megatronus' cohorts. Besides Soundwave there was the rogue scientist Shockwave, who had been banished from key projects. There was the patrol captain Barricade, dismissed for cruelty. There were Topspin and Twintwist. The two twins had fooled the Council when they were born, but they were inspired by a corrupt union. Finally there was Grimlock and some other gladiators to provide muscle. Orion always took the side of conciliation and peace.

Orion then had to report to Hoist for his checkup. That required a return to the prison where Orion had spent those many months. Now he found that chair familiar, in way it had started to free his mind.

"You've been busy, my friend," noted Hoist. "Your tracking monitor has you making several visits to the dockyard and the arena. The dockyard, I understand, but the arena?"

"My new friends Dion and Arielle took me there. I met the gladiator Megatronus and I have seeing him from time to time," answered Orion.

"Arielle? Did not your last experience with an out of caste female teach you nothing?" asked Hoist, surprised.

"No, it is nothing like that. I am much more concerned about Megatronus than her at the moment," answered Orion.

"Well, I do say I am impressed. My report from Ironhide states that you have been a model worker. He also says that you mediate disputes between the other laborers. Old Gears has never been so productive in his time. These are really good things, archivist," said Hoist. "Now tell me about Megatronus."

"He is a gladiator, perhaps the best of them. He has tried to encourage the workers to push for change. His mind leans toward violence, but his intentions are noble on some level. I have tried to keep him on a peaceful path," said Orion.

"What are his intentions?" asked Hoist.

"To reform the system, and to achieve real freedom," listed Orion.

"How will he do that?" asked Hoist.

"I am trying to push him toward negotiation, toward a work stoppage, but there are those whisper to him to overthrow the government. I am stronger now, but I cannot hold out for ever. If there was only some way to meet with the Council, and to have them listen to Megatronus. That might halt civil war. Could you do that, medic?" asked Orion, not knowing what influence Hoist might have had with the Council.

"Time out," muttered Hoist, "Let me get this straight. I let you out on work release and the first thing that you do is go engage in civil unrest? That does not look very good."

"Doctor, what is it that I have said all along? The most important thing in my life is honor and I cannot let Megatronus raise civil war or let the Council continue to keep freedom away from its people," said Orion. "You once mentioned something about Halogen. Will he listen to you?"

"I…don't know. Why should I help you?" asked Hoist.

"Because deep down you know there is something not quite right about our planet, and it will not change unless we push for it," said Orion.

"I will consider your request, but I suggest you stick to the dockyard until we meet again," said Hoist.

"Fair enough," said Orion.

The session ended with Hoist confused and befuddled. What had he just done? He did not know Halogen, he just knew that Halogen had an interest in this case. Still that might be enough. Hoist left the prison compound and headed over to the government center in Iacon. The pentagonal building had smooth edges that appealed to the eye, but Hoist didn't notice. He entered the building and wondered what possessed him to do this.

He was stopped by a reception desk.

"Stop right there, Autobot. Only Guardians and Archivists are allowed past this point," said a voice.

"Where are you?" asked Hoist.

"Right here. In front of you. Oh that's right, I am invisible. Sorry about that," said the voice and suddenly he appeared. His proper tone and diction betrayed one of the archivist class. "I am Mirage, clerk for the government center. How can I help you?" said the white and blue Autobot in a kinder voice.

"How long have you been able to do that?" asked Hoist.

"Since sparking, it is some kind of mutation. The scientists have been trying to replicate it, which is why I clerk here instead of being locked in the archives or mentoring other bots. Now I say again, how can I help you?" asked Mirage.

"I am Hoist, medical class, and I need to see Councillor Halogen," said Hoist.

"Not just anyone can see the council. Do you have an appointment?" asked Mirage.

"No I am afraid not, but it is about the prisoner he sent me to rehabilitate," said Hoist.

"Let me check the councillor's notes. I seem to remember seeing something about a Hoist," said Mirage. He typed busily into the miniature computer on the desk in front of him. "Ah, here is something. It directs me to allow one Hoist to come and consult with Halogen about one Orion Pax if needed. Let me buzz up there and see if he can see you now," said Mirage. He hit a communicator on the table.

"Prowl, here. This better not be another prank call, Mirage," came Prowl's voice through the communicator.

"No. I have Medic Hoist to see Halogen. Is the councilor seeing visitors?" asked Mirage.

"A medic? What is this about? Halogen is not ill," said Prowl.

"No, he is here about…uhh…Orion Pax," said Mirage.

"Send him up," said a second voice that was not Prowl's.

"Yes, sir, councilor," responded Mirage. "There you go. The pneumatic tube will take you directly to where you need to go."

"Thank you," said Hoist. Now he was starting to feel nervous about all this. He had never met a councilor before. Who was this Orion Pax, and why did he feel this need to aid him?

Hoist walked past another security station where a black and white Autobot merely pointed at the door and then went back to his screens. Hoist entered and found an extremely old Autobot seated inside. His body model was unused in years. A single eye looked out of a rounded head.

Halogen came out of his seat to greet Hoist. "You must be Hoist the medic. I have followed your work with interest. Come with me, I am sure you much to discuss."

Hoist followed Halogen out into a garden of sorts. There were sculptures here, the great work of artists during the Golden Age. Halogen walked between them and looked at this one or that before speaking to Hoist. "Now, outside is better for the spark I think. You came to see me about Orion Pax?" asked Halogen.

"Yes, councilor," said Hoist, a little shy in front of the powerful minister.

"What do you think of him? He was a marvelous archivist in his way, and he knows more about some things than the Council does. Always wondering, questioning, asking why. Why can be a dangerous question in the rule of Sentinel Prime, because the answer is sometimes 'we said so.'

Pax was a dreamer too, which was a little unfortunate. You never truly knew if he was with you or off in another world and time. Yet there was something there deep down that beat solidly. I could never put my finger on it, but it was pure inside. I did not want to lose that," said Halogen.

"Orion said he never met you before," noted Hoist, wondering how such personal a tone could be coming from the councilor.

"And so he has not. The Council sees all, my medical friend. Trust me when I tell you that I know Orion Pax," said Halogen.

"If that is the case, why was he imprisoned for the incident with Flareup?" asked Hoist.

"Two things. One, even though we guardians and councilors see all, we do not always see it correctly. Two, crimes that subvert the caste system are taken too seriously by Sentinel Prime. There was nothing I could do during the charging or trial phases. The only pull I had was who was to be his rehabilitator," noted Halogen, walking to another sculpture.

"And you chose me, a medic," said Hoist.

"You must find it odd, since you are part of the scientist caste, that I chose you," said Halogen.

"I did. I figured it out, though," answered Hoist.

"Oh?" said Halogen, surprised.

"You know how seriously the psychiatrist class 'cures' their patients. He would become a shell of himself if subjected to that. You wanted to preserve his sense of honor, if it had survived the ordeal. It very nearly did not. Which is why I hate to mention why I am really here," said Hoist.

"And why is that?" asked Halogen, seemingly disinterested.

"Orion has been meeting with the gladiator Megatronus and others like him. There is discontent growing among the lower castes. Orion believes that Megatronus is tapping into it, and then it will eventually explode. He asked me to ask you if you would ask the Council to meet with Megatronus and hear his point of view. I think Orion hopes that both the Council and Megatronus will see how valuable peace and reform are compared to war," said Hoist.

"Oddly involved for Orion. He was always so private and withdrawn. Certainly not one to talk to, much less befriend, a gladiator. Yet that is Orion's innate wisdom coming through. What did you do to him, I wonder?" asked Halogen.

"I can take no credit, sir. Ironhide's work reports reveal only his inner sense of duty and honor among his fellow workers," said Hoist.

"Did Orion use the word 'honor'?" asked Halogen.

"Yes, when I pressed him about Flareup," said Hoist.

"That is good. He had not made that connection before. It was always there inside him, his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. But he always dismissed it before, the reports bear that out. If he said those words to you, then that is remarkable. Sometimes the ordinary is miraculous. Since you got Orion to lock in to that simple meaning, I believe I owe you one meeting between the Council and the upstart Megatronus. It will take time, but I think Sentinel Prime will have to agree," answered Halogen.

"Really, sir?" asked Hoist.

"Oh, I am quite good at my word. Just ask Alpha Trion or the Quintessons. Not that you will see either of those ever in your life," said Halogen. "Now, dismissed, medic Hoist."

Hoist left the garden and exited the complex the way he had come. He would not see Orion Pax for another week. He hoped that the Autobot was continuing the work that Halogen felt was already well advanced. Hoist wondered how Halogen knew so much about Orion and himself, but so little about Megatronus. Hoist did not visit the arena as he was a scientist. He waved to Mirage on his way out and then transformed in order to speed his way back to the medical quarters.


	6. The Fateful Meeting

Hoist felt the week pass quickly. He even ignored the strange series of accidents and sabotages that began to take place. Soon enough he was in the prison block waiting for the report of Orion Pax. He had once agreed to no names, but now that name was constantly in his thoughts. Hoist felt relief when the Autobot entered. Hoist had received word from Halogen that the Council would indeed meet with Megatronus and his delegation.

"So, how goes it?" asked Hoist with an air of informality that caused a look from Orion.

"Fine. I am little concerned about the terrorism that started to pop up, but I am doing fine," answered Orion Pax.

"Well, you are going to do better than fine when I tell you this. The Council has agreed to hear Megatronus and his delegation. You have won," said Hoist. He continued to tell Orion the details of where and when that Halogen had imparted to him and he could see relief spread across Orion's face.

"And with that, I will return you to your labors. I am happy for you. I do not know what it is that you are doing, but I am glad," said Hoist. He watched Orion leave, on his way back to the dockyard.

Orion Pax did not remember the trip back to the dockyard. He might have transformed, or he might not have. He found it hard to finish out the day's work, something that was missed by Gears but noticed by other eyes.

With the work finished, Orion stood on the back deck looking over the river of ammonia as it flowed around the metal golden planet. He soon realized he was not alone.

"You were spacy today, Orion. That is not like you," said the pink Arielle.

"There was a time when that was quite like me," noted Orion.

"Cut that out, Orion. What happened to you today?" asked Arielle.

"I saw my rehabilitator today. He told me that the Council would agree to hear Megatronus and his delegation. It is chance for them to save Cybertron from war. I hope all sides take it seriously," said Orion, continuing to stare off into the distance.

"Well, be careful. Megatronus may be a good speaker, but he is still a thug. He won't just stop being a thug," noted Arielle.

"Perhaps. But that is what is at stake. Is Megatronus a thug or have we made him that way? Given a strong opportunity for choice, for freedom, would he behave differently? We all deserve the right to find that out," said Orion.

"Is freedom all that you think about?" asked Arielle in a different tone that Orion could not place.

"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," answered Orion, turning to look at Arielle. He noted the concern on her face for the first time.

"I don't want you to go. Let Megatronus make his own pitch before the Council. Just stay here with us, working in the dockyard," said Arielle.

"There would be no honor in abandoning Megatronus now. I will go tell him of the arrangements. When the day comes I will also aid him. We are at a critical moment in this. Before now, before I met you and the others, I would never have gotten this far. I cannot stop now, for some nameless fear," answered Orion.

"But I…I can't stop you, can I?" sputtered Arielle.

"No. Til all are one," smiled Orion as he left her there and began his trek down to the arena.

"Til all are one," whispered Arielle as he disappeared.

Orion arrived at the bunker under the arena to find a different group than he remembered. Shockwave was missing. So was Barricade. Soundwave was there as were smaller robots that Orion had not noticed before. Apparently they became data discs and stored inside of Soundwave. Orion had to pause at that, since Breastforming was an ancient tactic thought lost to the modern Golden Age. Still there were Topspin, Twintwist, and Grimlock.

"Welcome, Orion Pax. It has been awhile since you have been in our presence," noted Megatronus.

"I have good news, Megatronus. The Council will see you, and a delegation of your choosing two days from today at the Great Hall. This is your chance, Megatronus," said Orion.

"Things have changed, Orion. There is terror in the streets. We must move quickly and the Council will only slow us down," said Megatronus. "We cannot let these terrorists imperil our people."

"Terrorists are terrorists for a reason. The bigger picture is more important. If the Council accepts your proposals, then the terrorists will be satisfied. No one has to die," reminded Orion.

"Then we shall vote then. All in favor of appealing to the Council?" said Megatronus. The hands of Grimlock, Twintwist, Topspin, and Orion Pax went into the air.

"And against?" asked Megatronus. Soundwave, Rumble, and Frenzy raised their hands.

"It appears that the ayes have it," said Megatronus.

"You did not vote," said Soundwave in an unaccusing manner.

"Oh, I think I did, Soundwave. Let us prepare to meet the Council. I think our present company would do well for a delegation," answered Megatronus.

"Will you contact Shockwave? His logic might convince the council," suggested Orion.

"Shockwave is rather occupied at the moment. No matter, we have you and me. That is all we need to worry about," said Megatronus dismissively.

"Then we shall meet here and go to the Great Hall together," suggested Orion Pax.

"Yes, eight Cybertronians united for freedom, peace, and opportunity," replied Megatronus.

Orion Pax worked distractedly the next day in the dockyard. Gears and Dion did not catch it, but Arielle did. She had become more distant toward Orion since their talk the day before. She quietly worked and prepared. While Orion had received an order from the Council freeing him from duty tomorrow, there was a big shipment of energon coming in. The cubes would need to be offloaded quickly before any terrorists might arrive to cause trouble. Why couldn't Orion look at what was right in front of him? Why was he trying to see what wasn't there?

The Great Hall was open in the bottom with its great floor, while the Council members sat in a balcony of sorts above the floor. In the center was the great Sentinel Prime, holding on to a rod or some sort of instrument. On his left was Drivetrain and on his right was Halogen.

Beyond Halogen was Crosscut, the youngest member of the Council. He was a subcompact character, but his size did not mean that he was any weaker in spirit than any other member of the council.

Beyond Drivetrain was Contrail. They looked much like Halogen or Sentinel Prime. Two seats were vacant as Sigil and Over-run had joined the Matrix, but their replacements were not ready. That meant Flareup was not present.

Halogen brought the meeting to order and introduced the Council. He reminded Megatronus of the great uniqueness of the meeting. He also reminded Megatronus that all arms had been confiscated earlier, so no violent action would be tolerated from the Decepticons or Autobots.

Megatronus introduced his delegation to the Council and then proceeded with listing his grievances and his demands. It was as Orion had hoped, Megatronus held back on some his true feelings to aim for possible things. He spoke in the simple phrases of a gladiator, and he could not be misunderstood.

Drivetrain questioned why he did not believe that simple reforms would not overturn society. After the caste system had held Cybertron in peace for millions of years. Why should it not continue to do the same?

Crosscut pointed out that time did not stand still as much as Sentinel Prime had tried to make it do so. A new day may require new answers. The older generation was slowly disappearing. The new generation might have ideas that will dominate in the future, but only cause frustration at the moment.

Contrail pointed out that Crosscut was not a veteran of the Second Cybertronian War, and he should be careful about so easily dismissing an idea that brought peace for so long.

Halogen and Sentinel Prime waited, knowing that they would speak last and if there was to be any agreement, it would have to come from the two of them. Yet as Crosscut argued with Contrail and Drivetrain, a figure raised his voice from the floor.

Grimlock and Twintwist were flanking Orion and were surprised to hear his voice suddenly rise. Nor were they prepared for eloquence that came out of it. What they heard was a summation of all of Orion's personal feelings about freedom, opportunity, honor, and cooperation. When he was finished, the two just stared at him blankly. At that really just happened?

Halogen showed approval, but how much good Orion had done for their cause was hard to see. What he had done was to alert Sentinel Prime to idea that his utopia might be in real danger. Sentinel Prime raised his staff to signal silence and then he turned to the delegation on the floor.

"Enough. We know the issues. We will settle this in Council chambers. You may remain until we return," said Sentinel Prime. The Council exited to make their vote. No one noticed as Soundwave turned away from the group and released something from his chest. Laserbeak quietly rose to the top of the room and landed on the door of the Council chamber. He listened to the discussion going on inside.

The door blocked some of the sound but Sentinel Prime was doing most of the talking. "There can be no further…the terrorism has grown to unprecedented levels…why do you think I sent Starscream and Skyfire of the scientist caste to secure the project…To deal would be to act with weakness…" Sentinel Prime's rant continued. Laserbeak released his grip and prepared to glide stealthily back to Soundwave.

Grimlock had not noticed the small Decepticon. He instead turned to Orion. "How do you think we are going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know. There have never been two vacancies on the Council before. That would have been two votes in our favor if Crosscut is typical of our generation. I can't see Sentinel Prime siding with us," said Orion.

"So we will fail?" asked Grimlock. "Then why did we come?"

"To make a statement, Grimlock. We will keep on try to make our case and one day they will have to listen or the new generation will just sweep them away," said Orion.

"Sentinel Prime is stronger than you think," snorted Grimlock.

Laserbeak returned to Soundwave. Soundwave nodded to Megatronus, who nodded back. The Council returned. The four members were emotionless as Sentinel Prime delivered the verdict.

"You have come here seeking reform, but under your reforms is the threat of war. We will not be intimidated into dismantling the only guarantee of peace on this planet for millions of years. You, gladiator, may dream of something more but you had better do it under a name other than Megatronus. The innocent masses may not know the name of the Fallen, but I do. It is a name of chaos. I order you to return to the arena to serve until death. You may take the ones called Grimlock and Soundwave, a Decepticon, back with you.

As for you three Autobots, this is your fate. The twins will be imprisoned indefinitely until their origins could be better identified. And to think, Megatronus, that you thought you could win over the Council with the convicted criminal Orion Pax? Orion Pax, your parole is revoked, and you will return to prison…" started Sentinel Prime.

Megatronus stood forth. "If there is to be no justice with the ways of the Autobots, then I will seek the ways of the Decepticons." Frenzy came out of Soundwave and placed a Decepticon insignia on his chest. "For now, I am no longer the Autobot Megatronus, but the Decepticon Megatron."

Soundwave spilled out more discs. Rumble, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ratbat, Ravage, and a small object came out of his chest. Everyone was aware something was about to happen. Sentinel Prime stared down with defiance at this new coterie of dangerous creatures. He feared nothing, since he too had once been a gladiator of the pits. He almost seemed to be daring them to try something.

Megatron leaned over where the untransformed data disc was. It turned into a riot cannon, which made Orion's eyes grow wide. Before he could say anything Megatron fired a blast that hit the ceiling and began bringing down the roof on the head of the Council.

"I don't need your lectures, Sentinel Prime. We Decepticons will rise up and take the power and freedom you deny us," said Megatron.

The rubble shifted and Crosscut and Sentinel Prime emerged. So too did a shaken Halogen. Soundwave's minions charged the second level. The rubble started falling all around as the roof collapsed. Orion felt himself being grabbed away by Grimlock and sliding a few feet away. Twintwist and Topspin were nowhere to be seen, either hiding or buried. Orion watched the sickening scene unfold before him.

Buzzsaw looked at one-eyed Halogen and tilted his head to one side. Halogen had no strength to run. The mighty blast from Buzzsaw knocked him to his knees. He could feel his spark draining from him. He felt hands on his shoulders and saw the face of Sentinel Prime. Halogen shook his head sadly and said only, "We were too late…" and then he went off line.

Sentinel Prime placed a hand on his colleague's chest and the other one held his own forehead. He then stood up and slammed Buzzsaw with his staff. Laserbeak and the others were closing in, and Megatron would not be far behind. He considered making a final stand until a voice broke his concentration.

"Sentinel Prime, this is Prowl. We have a grade 1 Decepticon uprising. Request instructions," came Prowl's voice on his communication link.

He would have to activate the guardian robots, the kin of Omega Supreme. Otherwise this rebellion would get out of control and they would all be lucky to live through it. He could not do it here, but he could from the Decagon. The Guardians were programmed to only respond to those endowed by Vector Sigma. Sentinel felt the Matrix beating in his chest. Only he could call upon them.

Crosscut looked at him. "Go, Sentinel Prime. The Autobots need you. I will hold them off best I can."

"You will gain the Order of Primus for this," said Sentinel Prime. "Prowl, order our drone forces to clear a path for the Decagon. I will summon the guardian robots to duty from there."

"As you command, Sentinel Prime. Prowl out," said Prowl's voice in the communicator.

"Til All Are One," said Crosscut.

"Til All Are One," answered Sentinel Prime and he transformed into a truck to get out faster.

Crosscut was surprisingly well-armed for an Autobot, but that was a precaution that the Guardian caste had taken since the inception of the caste system. He managed to fire a couple missiles to ward off Ratbat and Laserbeak and his pistol and rifle kept Rumble and Frenzy at bay. It was Ravage who broke through his defenses and tackled him. He then was subdued by the mass of the disc transformers. Megatron and Soundwave approached carefully and saw the heavily wounded Crosscut trying to reach for his rifle.

"Such a pity. You were almost worth fighting," said Megatron as he blasted Crosscut to oblivion with his fusion cannon. "Soundwave, we must catch Sentinel Prime before he can contact reinforcements. Let's move."


	7. Dawn of War

The Decepticons exited the Great Hall in the same way that Sentinel Prime did. They left behind Orion Pax and their three former associates. Orion was in a dream state. Had this really happened? He looked over at Grimlock, caught under some rubble. Yes, it had. Grimlock had saved him. For the moment, Orion ignored the deaths of Halogen and the others and focused on the living.

He started moving metal rubble off of Grimlock. He soon found that Topspin and Twintwist were there with him. The three of them got the gladiator uncovered. He was conscious, but in bad shape.

"Do you know where we can take him?" asked Orion.

"No hospital around here would accept him. He has no caste, remember. If he dies then that was why he was made a gladiator in the first place," said Twintwist sadly.

"Caste or not, he is an Autobot and our friend. Help me get him to the dockyard where I work," said Orion.

Twintwist supported one of Grimlock's mighty shoulders while Topspin supported the other. Orion led them from the ruined Great Hall out into the streets of Iacon. Chaos was ringing out as the activities of Decepticons were creating terror in the city. The only good thing was that no one bothered to stop the four of them to ask what they were doing.

The dockyard seemed unaware of what was going on in the city proper. Its remote location had kept it out of the loop. Ironhide looked with astonishment at the four Autobots coming toward him.

"What happened to you?" asked Ironhide incredulously.

"Megatronus turned on the Council. He is leading a rebellion of the Decepticons and whatever other support he has. We were caught in the opening blast. Is there something we can do for him?" said Orion as he motioned to Grimlock.

"Ratchet, this is Ironhide. I need you," said Ironhide into his communicator.

Ratchet appeared and then transformed into robot mode. He looked toublingly at the scene in front of him. "What is it Ironhide?" he asked.

"Ya know how ya always wanted to play doctor?" asked Ironhide.

"Yes," said Ratchet, somewhat embarrassed to be having this conversation in front of strangers.

"Well, there is your first client right there," said Ironhide, pointing to Grimlock.

Ratchet immediately began to examine Grimlock carefully. When he had seen enough he motioned to Topspin and Twintwist. "You two follow me, I think I can patch him up," said Ratchet. The four moved away, leaving Ironhide and Orion Pax alone.

"Ya know that Megatronus is a hero to most of these folks. They won't believe he's turned on them. Shoot, I can't believe it. Paid good money to some of those arena types," said Ironhide.

"I know, but the truth is sometimes unpleasant. And sometimes people do not care what the truth is," said Orion. "I need a minute, Ironhide. I still am not sure of what I have just seen."

"My best advice is to work it off. Terrorism or no, we still have to get the big energon load unloaded. Besides, Dion and Arielle will be glad to see you," said Ironhide.

Orion walked slowly towards the loading dock where the energon was being unloaded as stable energon cubes. Dion saw him approach and Arielle ran up and pecked his check. That surprised Orion, but he didn't say anything.

Dion noticed his condition, and then asked, "Have you seen the flying robots?"

"Do you mean the Decepticons?" asked Orion, surprised.

"No, I mean them. They have Autobot symbols, but they fly. Who do you think they are?" asked Dion as he pointed in the direction of the sky. There were five oncoming robots descending in the sky right toward the dockyard.

They landed on the loading pier behind the large storage facility. Orion walked out to greet them. Dion and Arielle followed him out. The group seemed to be dominated by the colors red and white and all had strange shapes with some semblance of wings. There was one larger than the others that seemed to be the leader.

"Welcome to the dockyard of Iacon. I am Orion Pax, this is Arielle and that is Dion, my friends. What can we do for you?" asked Orion.

"I am Silverbolt. We are just looking around. This is a nice place you have here. Could do with less fireworks I suppose. Still, impressive," answered the big one.

"It is nice of you to say so, we do not often get visits from the scientist caste. Your forms are quite unusual, I must say," answered Orion.

"Scientist caste? What is that?" asked Silverbolt, looking at his other companions who simply shrugged.

"You don't need him to tell you that the scientists and the Decepticons are the only castes that can fly," said Dion, clearly finding their ignorance ridiculous.

"I am sorry, but I do not know what this 'caste' thing is. I did not mean to offend you in some way," answered Silverbolt.

"Are there no castes where you come from?" asked Orion, perking with interest.

"No. I guess everybody has things that they do well, but no determined roles like that," said Silverbolt.

"I do everything well," said one of the team members, who was mostly white.

"Thanks, Slingshot," replied Silverbolt.

"Where on Cybertron do you live, friend?" asked Orion Pax.

"Cybertron? No, we don't really live on Cybertron," said Silverbolt. His answer clearly suggested he was uncomfortable going too much further down this road.

"Really? Are you from one of the ancient colonies then? Like Velocitron or Junk?" asked Orion. He hadn't thought about it, but the old colonial worlds of Cybertron may not have accepted the directives of the Cybertronian Council, particularly since connections had been infrequent with the loss of space bridge technology. Somewhere out there may be a world without castes.

"No, not exactly…" started Silverbolt, but he was interrupted by the arrival of a fleet of Cybertronian trucks led by none of than Megatron. His entrance clearly startled Silverbolt, though his companions were less bothered by it.

Megatron entered the storage area flanked by Shockwave and Barricade. He noticed Orion Pax immediately and ignored the others for a moment. "I thought I might find you here, Orion. As I told you before, the Council was never going to give us what we wanted. I will have to take it and give it myself," said Megatron.

Dion and Arielle moved between Orion and Megatron. "Oh don't bother doing that. I have all the power in this situation. I will take the energon, whether you try and stop me or not. It would be so much easier if you just let this happen, but sometimes examples must be made," said Megatron. He raised his riot cannon at Arielle.

"No!" came a voice and the body of Orion Pax came in between the cannon and the female Autobot. "Megatron, it does not have to be this way. There is still time to pull back. Still time to do the honorable thing," said Orion, keeping Arielle back with one arm.

"No, Orion, there is no going back. Not when we killed Crosscut and Halogen. My decision was made then. It disappoints me that you were not more flexible," answered Megatron as he fired his cannon directly into the lower torso of Orion Pax.

Orion's face contorted briefly and then fell down. It was hard to tell if he was in stasis or dead. Dion jumped at Megatron only to be knocked down by a vicious blast to his chest. Arielle screamed and charged him too only to also fall. Then Megatron felt a blast hit his helmet.

"I am never going to forgive you for this, Megatron! I will fight you forever if I have to!" shouted Slingshot.

"Skydive and Air Raid, help Slingshot. Fireflight, you're with me. We have to move these bodies to safety and save them if we can," said Silverbolt. He grabbed Dion under one arm and Arielle under the other. Fireflight pulled Orion on his back and the two beat a hasty retreat.

The remaining three Aerialbots found themselves outnumbered. That didn't bother Slingshot, but Air Raid knew they could not hold out forever. "I'm going to blow the energon cache," he yelled to Skydive, who was hiding behind a stack of energon cubes.

"Okay. Slingshot pull out of there! We are going to blow the cubes," said Skydive.

Shockwave heard their communication. "Megatron, the strange Autobots are going to blow the energon. Perhaps we should escape."

"No, I need this energon. Sentinel Prime got to the Decagon. Soon this place will be crawling with Guardian robots," said Megatron.

"Message from Soundwave. Guardian robots are approaching his position. He needs support," interrupted Barricade.

Air Raid fired on a cube stack and the resulting explosion was massive and caught the rest of the energon in the warehouse. The three Aerialbots did not stick round to see if they had eliminated Megatron. They needed to help Silverbolt deliver the wounded to a hospital or something.

They caught to Silverbolt and helped by taking Dion's body from him. Silverbolt found what he thought was a hospital and rang the buzzer. A familiar looking robot came out. Yet even though his colors were familiar, his voice was not.

"Can I help you?" asked the strange voice from his white and orange face.

"Yes, we need to help our friends here before they leave stasis lock," said Silverbolt.

"Names?" asked the figure.

"This one is Orion Pax. The other two are Dion and Arielle," answered Silverbolt.

"Let me consult my records…hmm. No I cannot help you," said the voice.

"Can you tell me why not?" asked Silverbolt.

"Because this hospital is for members of the higher castes only. According to my records your friends are two laborers and a convicted criminal. You must find a laborer treatment center," said the voice.

"Pharma, let them in," came a voice from behind the medical robot.

"Sir, the rules! We can't just mingle the castes like this," protested Pharma.

"In my day there were no castes and we did fine. I suppose you wanted to deal with these other terrorist trauma victims yourselves?" said the voice from behind.

"It would be difficult to refuse a member of the guardian caste, sir," said Pharma.

"More likely it is harder to refuse one who learned metallurgy from Solus Prime and the importance of time from Vector Prime himself. You there at the door, bring the red to this table here. Place the other two over there on those two tables. Hoist, I am going to need your assistance," said the voice.

"Yes, Alpha Trion," answered Hoist. Hoist had been caring for other victims and had not noticed the commotion at the door. When Silverbolt laid Orion Pax on the table, it took little time for Hoist to recognize the Autobot in some shock.

"Pharma, stabilize the other two. I have a feeling that this one is the worst off," said Alpha Trion. "Thank you for bringing them, but I am going to ask you to leave, my friends. We will need the room here. Hoist? What's the matter?"

Silverbolt and the Aerialbots shuffled outside. Hoist turned to Alpha Trion and said, "I know this Autobot. Halogen assigned me to rehabilitate him, before the assassinations."

"Well, I will take care of the examination. Stand by to assist," instructed Alpha Trion.

"Yes, sir," answered Hoist. To question one who was rumored to be one of the thirteen original Transformers seemed out of place. Hoist was pained to see Orion Pax like this, but he also was slightly guilty for what happened to Halogen. Orion might feel the same way, if he were conscious. They had both set up that meeting, and it had turned into a declaration of war.

"Large wound in the lower right torso. Impact hit the central nervous connection. Victim's looking at paralysis if he recovers at all. Leg trauma, but its pre-wounding. This is a construction defect, probably had it his whole life. You sent him to the dockyard?" asked Alpha Trion.

"Yes, sir," said Hoist.

"The old archivist is tougher than I thought. He has a strong spark to cover a defect like that. Did he ever talk about it?" asked Alpha Trion.

"Not to me, sir," said Hoist. Physical defects eluded him. He had been much more interested in the mental…

"Quick scan should…yes, it is as I always suspected. Orion's spark does have a unique interaction with his body and the world around him. I first noticed it in the archives, how it allowed for a quick grasp of the truth. That and his innate sense of honor, something I could not teach," said Alpha Trion.

"You knew Orion, sir?" asked Hoist.

"I was the chief archivist as well as the chief medical officer. Even Sentinel Prime could not deny me that birthright. I noticed Orion early and tried to direct his career from afar. I wanted him to mentor our future leaders, to have them grasp on to that sense of honor. I told Halogen so, and we assigned Flareup to him. Some wise man I was, I did not see the internal conflict that Flareup caused within him. I felt as if I had turned his honor against him, and so I had Halogen mitigate punishment," answered Alpha Trion.

"Now he is near death, and Halogen is dead. This has been an expensive business, sir," said Hoist.

"Sensors are showing decreasing activity. We will have to move fast to save him, there is only one way…" said Alpha Trion, turning around to pull an object from the wall.

"Alpha Trion, the Council forbids the use of sacred artifacts to cure a mere criminal!" interjected Pharma.

"Pharma, all life is precious. This hammer was meant to improve life, and so it shall," responded Alpha Trion, lifting the forge of Solus Prime over the body of Orion Pax.

"That is an honor only a Prime can use!" argued Pharma.

"Or one OF the Primes. I am the last of thirteen, created to replace the Fallen. I may not bear the name Prime, but this hammer will listen to me all the same," answered Alpha Trion. He landed the forge on the form of Orion Pax with a clang. Hoist had a hard time watching as sparks flew one after another. He could not believe what he was seeing. The last member of the Thirteen banging away with a tool of legend on an Autobot that was still a convicted criminal.

Silverbolt was getting nervous outside. He knew that they really were not supposed to be there. Not in that time. The fighting was getting closer. They could hear the unique buzz of the charging weapons of the Guardian robots. Then the door behind them opened, and two forms emerged. One was Alpha Trion and the other one was…_Optimus Prime?_

Silverbolt jerked back. It was Prime all right, but not as he had seen him on Earth. This was a more Cybertronian Optimus, but still with a face plate. It made Silverbolt wonder what he might look like in a more Cybertronian body. Silverbolt at least had the good sense to keep his mouth shut.

"Optimus?" asked Slingshot.

"Yes, I believe you are due for a new name. Optimus it is. You are the first among a new line of Autobots. A line that claims allegiance to no caste. What are your intentions, there is work to be done," said Alpha Trion.

"I will stop Megatron. I followed him because I believed that his desire for freedom and opportunity were genuine, but he only used them as means to gain power. If you five would come with me, I would be grateful for the help," said Optimus, for the first time with a Cullenesque tone.

"We will," said Silverbolt and they followed Optimus toward the fighting in the streets of Iacon. Decepticon drones, created by Shockwave, met them first. Optimus first produced a black rifle that he used to blow away the first handful. When they got too close, he produced an energy axe and wiped through their numbers. The Aerialbots supported the effort and soon Optimus found himself in front of Megatron.

"Out of the way, Autobot. This does not concern you," said Megatron, not noticing he was dealing with an armed former Orion Pax. He fired his riot cannon at Optimus only to have the shots bounce harmlessly off the modified chest of the new warrior. "What? Who are you?" he asked.

"Your worst nightmare," said Optimus as he then laid down fire with his rifle. Drones fell around Megatron, and the former gladiator was forced to seek cover.

"Megatron, this is Barricade, come in," said the voice of Barricade through the receiver.

"Report, Barricade," answered Megatron, still listening to Optimus' rifle.

"We have cornered Sentinel Prime in the Decagon, lord," said Barricade.

"I will be right there. Seal the building and let no one escape," ordered Megatron. He then flew off to join his forces around the Decagon. The drones retreated in the same direction. Optimus and the Aerialbots were left alone with a couple Guardian robots that were looking for orders from Sentinel Prime.

"Autobots, we cannot let Megatron take the Decagon. Are you with me?" said Optimus and he turned around to look at the Aerialbots. To his amazement, they faded from view in front of him. He let the puzzle go, though it would have driven Orion Pax to distraction. Optimus had to get to the Decagon, but he could not go alone. He decided to ask Alpha Trion for advice and returned to the hospital. When he got there he could not believe what he saw.


	8. Wreck and Rule

The wounded were no longer contained by Pharma's petty caste rules. They were everywhere, in the street, even. There were various Autobots helping care for them. Optimus recognized Ratchet amongst those caring for the bodies. The caste system had seemingly broken down here, defeated by Alpha Trion and necessity.

An Autobot approached him who Optimus did not recognize. He was tall and had white shoulder extensions. His body was blue in the head and chest, but red in other places. Optimus looked up into the face of this stranger.

"You made it. We were concerned you had perished. What happened to the other guys with you?" asked the figure.

"They disappeared, returned to whence they came. Friend, I recognize your voice, but I cannot place your design," said Optimus.

"Oh. That's right. You don't look all that different from Orion Pax, but I must be a lot different. It's me, Dion. Or at least that was what I used to be called. Pharma thought that I was too 'ultra,' while Alpha Trion quipped that he had perfected using the forge and that I was his 'magnum opus' or some other. That led to my new name, Ultra Magnus. A bit too flashy for a laborer like me, but I'll take it," answered Ultra Magnus.

"If Alpha Trion saved you, did he save Arielle?" asked Optimus.

"You can't kill a girl like me that easy," answered a female voice.

Optimus turned around and saw that Arielle too had been changed. She was no longer curved and delicate like he remembered, but hardened and ready for action. Optimus felt uneasy for the first time in his new body. He wobbled briefly, and Ultra Magnus caught him to keep him stable and standing.

"I thought I lost you," Optimus said to no one in particular.

"Well, Arielle is gone. She is Elita One now," pointed out Ultra Magnus.

"Where is Alpha Trion, I need to speak with him," said Optimus.

"He's inside the hospital with Pharma. He's been trying to care for the wounded as they come in. He mumbled something about bearing responsibility. We did not ask," said Elita One. She led Optimus into the hospital room where Optimus saw more than just Pharma and Alpha Trion. He saw a laborer with flashing ears helping out. He also saw Topspin and Twintwist assisting. There was Hoist as well.

Alpha Trion noticed Optimus enter and headed over to speak to him. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Megatron was unable to steal the energon at the port. We beat off his street attack, but he is now going to bring a lot of force on the Decagon to trap Sentinel Prime there. I don't know if the Guardian robots can stop him in such confined spaces," said Optimus.

"Yes, I fear we underestimated Megatron. Like you, I wanted to see the end of the caste system. I encouraged Halogen and Sentinel Prime to hear out Megatron. He must have had this warlord business thought out from the beginning," said Alpha Trion.

"We can deal with that later. Right now we need to figure out a way to break through to the Decagon and save Sentinel Prime," said Optimus.

"Well, the three of us are the only troops with weapons. Everyone else around here is unarmed, built for service work," noted Ultra Magnus.

"The Guardians had storage caches for weapons for just this kind of emergency. However only the guardians have the passcode to those caches. Sentinel Prime told a handful of people, and I was not one of them," said Alpha Trion.

"Did you say passcode?" asked an infiltrator model laborer.

"Yes, what does that have to do with you?" asked Ultra Magnus dismissively.

"Breaking codes is a hobby of mine, among others," said the laborer with his ears blinking.

"If we can get you to a weapons cache, can you get us inside?" asked Optimus.

"I'll do my best," said the laborer.

"What's your name, friend?" asked Optimus.

"Wheeljack is what they call me," answered Wheeljack.

"We're coming too, Optimus," said Twintwist. "Give us arms and we swear to help for the trouble that we helped cause."

"There's three more. Do you think Grimlock would join us?" asked Optimus hopefully. The big gladiator would be just the kind of fighter they would need.

"I don't think so, Optimus. Grimlock is recovering, but he blames you for much of this. He thinks you should have known better," said Twintwist.

"Well, we will need some muscle from somewhere. The six of us will not be enough," said Optimus.

A giant green and brown robot entered carrying two stretchers to be placed in the hospital. He deposited his passengers gently and then returned outside without saying a word. Optimus and Ultra Magnus looked at each other. That had to be him, right? They headed out the door followed by the others. Alpha Trion merely watched them go and shook his head.

"Til all are one," he said to nobody in particular.

Optimus shouted at the large laborer, "You there! Wait! We want to talk to you!"

The laborer stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Thank you, friend," said Optimus. "What is your name?"

"Some of my closer friends call me Bulkhead. Most everyone else calls me Roadbuster," said the green giant, rivaling the new Ultra Magnus in size.

"Roadbuster, I need your help. We are going to rescue Sentinel Prime. It won't be easy, and there is no guarantee we will come back from it," said Optimus.

"Why didn't you say so, I've always wanted to wreck things," said Roadbuster as he slammed one fist into the other. "Which way do we go?"

"The nearest weapons cache is two blocks down the street," answered Elita One.

"Then let's go there. Autobots, transform and roll out!" ordered Optimus, assuming his vehicle mode. Behind followed Ultra Magnus, Roadbuster, Topspin, Twintwist, Elita One, Ultra Magnus, and Wheeljack in their vehicle modes. Nothing blocked their way as they found the vault two blocks down.

The vault was buried in the road bed and looked like a sanitation entrance to the unknowing eye. Optimus and the others transformed into their robot forms. Optimus and Wheeljack bent over to examine the cache door as the others kept watch.

The cache door had a code keypad and an emergency opener that would respond to the voice of Sentinel Prime only. Optimus examined it carefully and turned to Wheeljack.

"Do you think you can open this?" he asked.

"May take a little doing, but I think I have it," said Wheeljack. He produced a small blade that Optimus had never seen before and fitted it UNDER the code panel. Then he levered the panel up ever so slightly so he could see the circuitry inside.

"Hey, whadya think you're doing there. Step away from that conduit, terrorists," said a voice. Wheeljack and Optimus looked up to see a greyish green Autobot motioning a sniper rifle at them. At least it looked like a sniper rifle. The robot was walking toward them with his hand on the trigger, so he must have some short range capability. He suddenly stopped and looked over their heads.

Optimus looked back and saw that Elita and Ultra Magnus had pulled out their weapons and were pointing them at the newcomer. Optimus stood between them, where any shot would have to hit him.

"Whoah, I have never seen your kind before. My identifier says that I got two laborers, to mixed breeds, and three errors. You need to back away now. No one gets into that weapon safe but one of the Council. Or Sentinel Prime," said the Autobot.

"We are not errors, Autobot. We come from Alpha Trion. Sentinel Prime is trapped in the Decagon, besieged by the Decepticons. We are going there to rescue him. We need those weapons if this is going to work. We don't want to hurt you," said Optimus.

"So you're going to fight Decepticons? Why didn't you say so. It would be much easier to guard those weapons while their firing, than to do it in that hole," answered the Autobot.

"Can you help us open it?" asked Optimus.

"I can't do that. I may be guardian class, but I am not that good," said the Autobot.

"Well, thank you for your support,…" started Optimus.

"Kup," answered Kup. "Don't think because I let you have these things that I am not going to watch you carefully with them. Pull one move, and I'll blast you to the All-Spark."

"Good enough, Kup," said Optimus. Elita and Ultra Magnus relaxed their weapons and Kup knelt down to observe what Wheeljack was doing with the hatch.

Wheeljack got down on his side, clearly trying to see inside the panel as he levered it up again. He could just make out two wires. A red wire and a blue wire. Both seemed to go into the computer controls of the hatch. Wheeljack looked up at Kup and Optimus.

"Blue wire? Or Red wire?" he asked.

"Sentinel Prime is blue. Cut the red one," suggested Kup.

Wheeljack snipped the red wire and heard a slight buzzing, which caused him to jerk everything except his blade away. Then the buzzing stopped, and Wheeljack propped open the hatch. He then sat in the roadway, relieved.

"Good job, Wheeljack," said Optimus. "Kup, do you know your way down?"

"Yeah, I do. If you think I am going to turn my back to you and get you weapons, you are mistaken. Someone else can go down, it is not far," said Kup.

"We'll go," said Twintwist pointing to himself and his brother. They went down into the hatch and Roadbuster moved to pass along the weapons that they brought out. There was a shoulder mounted launcher that went to Wheeljack. They reserved a rifle for Topspin. Kup took a smaller gun for 'support' as he called it. They kept sending up guns, but Roadbuster began attaching them to himself. Eventually he looked like a one man army and he scared the energon out of Topspin as the twin emerged from the hatch.

Twintwist came up presently too with his find. He was all smiles as he showed it to the others.

"What is that? A drill gun? Not very practical, I would say," muttered Kup.

"Okay, team. Let's close in on the Decagon. I have a feeling we may be running out of time. Transform and roll out," said Optimus.


	9. The Decagon

The group of eight transformers went into their vehicles modes and began heading toward the Decagon. As they closed in, they could see that the Decepticons had gotten into the building, and Sentinel Prime must be trapped somewhere inside. The group transformed.

"Okay, we're here. Now we need to get inside. Any thoughts?" asked Optimus to the party.

"The Decagon's security systems are wired to lock the communications center from the rest of the building in case of attack. If Sentinel Prime is anywhere, he'd be in there," said Kup.

"How do we get to the communications center?" asked Optimus.

"Well, the easy way is through the central corridor, but I figure that might be crawling with rebels. The other way is the security entrance, but if the Decepticons were smart they would watch it," said Kup.

"Do you have clearance for the security systems in the Decagon?" asked Optimus.

"Yeah, I can get in there, follow me," said Kup. He directed them around a couple buildings until he was facing a door. There was a squad of Decepticon lookalikes. "Looks like we have company."

"Drones? Must be Shockwave's work. That's not good, that means the Decepticons could have a much larger force than we thought," said Optimus, leaning against a building so as not to be seen. Kup was next to him doing about the same thing.

"Any ideas?" asked Ultra Magnus. Before he could finish he felt a brush of wind go by him. Then he heard lots of ammo being expended.

Roadbuster has unleashed his arsenal and taken down all the drones singlehandedly in a blaze of laser fire. He then stopped shooting and looked back at Kup and Optimus. "You coming?" he asked.

"There's a good chance they heard that," said Kup.

"Can't worry about that now, just get us into the building," said Optimus.

Kup entered his code prefix and the door opened to them. Even though the security was shielded, they could hear fighting going on in the rest of the building. The others followed Kup until he came to a door. He stopped and said, "This door brings us to the main passage. The entryway to the communications room is over there. I don't have clearance for that," said Kup.

"Wheeljack? You think you can us in another door?" asked Optimus.

"I don't know but I am going to try," said Wheeljack.

Kup opened the door and the eight Autobots stepped out. Almost immediately they came under rifle fire. There was little cover in the corridor, forcing them to retreat to the security door and hang around its edge. Roadbuster and Ultra Magnus fired out of the doorway to prevent pursuit.

"Barricade, direct the reinforcements over here. There are Autobots trying to get inside," came the wheezy voice of Shockwave. The Autobots could hear a number of footsteps.

"Well, we can't stop here. We have to get to that door," said Optimus.

"Let me handle it. Give me Roadbuster, Topspin, and Twintwist and we'll wreck things. At the very least we will hold them off. You just get to that door," said Elita One.

"Elita, I can't ask you to do this," said Optimus.

"You don't have to. I'd do anything for you," said Elita.

"Give us a call if it gets too hot," said Optimus.

"Wreckers don't call for backup, they call for clean up," snorted Roadbuster.

"Okay. Kup, Magnus, Wheeljack, let's move," ordered Optimus and the four of them made a dash for the door as a large amount of fire started landing around them.

Wheeljack started messing with the door controls, while Ultra Magnus used his new body to block anyone from firing at Wheeljack. Optimus and Kup tried to keep braced against the door with their guns out to be as small a target as possible.

"It's as I figured," grunted Ultra Magnus.

"What is that?" asked Optimus.

"Shockwave hasn't had these drones long. Their aim is not calibrated properly. They must have rushed these things through production. Wonder where they made them all?" asked Magnus.

Roadbuster laid down a one man barrage that swept a number of drones and forced others in hiding.

Shockwave stood his ground, "Your efforts in this matter are futile. No amount of firepower will stop us…"

Elita One and Topspin emerged and began firing on the Decepticons. Their added power changed the picture. Shockwave withdrew to a corner that he could peer from. He tried to orient his mind. The female's movements were much too fast, as if she was operating in a different plane. Yet that was not logical. He directed more drones into the hallway.

"Even now, you stand at the doorway of defeat. Don't think I won't keep throwing drones at you until you tire out. You cannot fight forever," said Shockwave. The floor shook under him and he looked to see the source.

Twintwist had used his drill gun to destabilize the floor, causing a rip that swallowed some drones.

Wheeljack had managed to reprogram the door and it opened. The four Autobots got inside and the door closed behind them. Once more out of a fire fight, they could not take time to rest.

"The room is this way," said Kup. He led them down a corridor that was eerily dark. Kup seemed to know his way instinctively. That was until he came to a break in the floor. Someone had caused a section to collapse, leaving a chasm. It would take a jump to cross, Kup thought.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here," said a voice, sounding brash for such a small voice.

"Which means you should leave," said another small voice with a big sound.

A black form leaped over the chasm and into Kup's chest, knocking him over. "What in the Matrix?" he called as he fell over.

"His name is Ravage, he works with Soundwave. They are with Megatron. I've seen them in action before," said Optimus.

Shots came from the air as Optimus noted Laserbeak and Ratbat, but not Buzzsaw. The Autobots fell away from each other. Then Rumble and Frenzy emerged from behind, where the Autobots had been not moments before.

"What's the plan?" asked Wheeljack, flinging Ravage away from Kup.

"I can handle this," said Ultra Magnus.

"Okay. You too, prepare to jump the gap," said Optimus.

Ultra Magnus let off a full flight of missiles to throw off the mini-deployers. Then he pulled down his rifle and laid down a field of fire that caused Rumble and Frenzy to leap away. "Okay, you, who still wants some?" he asked. The deployers mobbed toward him, but Optimus and the others turned away.

Kup jumped first with Wheeljack using some sort of wrist rocket to get over the gap. Finally, Optimus landed behind them. Kup motioned to the next door on the hall. Wheeljack approached the door and noticed the lights were in an unlock position.

"It's open, Optimus," said Wheeljack.

Optimus moved forward to lead the way. He pulled out his rifle in front of him. He blinked slowly and then rushed into the door. A scene of surprise greeted him inside. He could see that Sentinel Prime had sealed himself into the central chamber where the main communications were.

Megatron was encouraging Buzzsaw, who was working away at the walls with his lasers to break into the chamber holding Sentinel Prime. Soundwave had hooked a console to the Teletraan network and was attempting to hack his way in to the chamber. Soundwave and Megatron noticed the entrance of Optimus and Soudwave hit a key on his console which closed the door behind Optimus. Kup and Wheeljack were trapped outside.

Megatron said, "Keep at the chamber, Soundwave. I'll handle this." He approached Optimus. "You again. You were so persistent, but now you are all mine. I learned my craft in the pits. What do you know?"

"I know all your moves and your motives, Megatron," said Optimus, staring at Megatron.

"How can that be, we just met today," said Megatron, beginning to raise his riot cannon.

"How do you not know me? We worked side by side to reform Cybertron, not destroy it in the flames of war," said Optimus.

"The archivist? Orion Pax? You cannot be serious. If you are Orion, then this is our great moment. The enemy, the tyrant Sentinel Prime, is trapped in there. Help me capture him and we will end this caste slavery that you hate so much," said Megatron.

"You mean to replace it with your our tyranny, Megatron. You may not see it now, but your rule depends on your ties to the Decepticons. You must reward them, or else they will overthrow you too. You will create a new caste system, one where the Decepticons are favored and the Autobots are trod underfoot. Your only other choice is to get removed from leadership, and you have shown them how to do it," said Optimus.

"That sounds like my Orion. You underestimate my power, archivist. I will impose freedom for all who follow me to achieve the rightful destiny of all Cybertronians," answered Megatron. "Are you with me? There is much you could do in the new order."

"No, the Orion Pax that you knew is dead. You killed him. I am Optimus, and I will oppose your ways to the end, Megatron," said Optimus. He wondered how Megatron was going to dispense with him, since his new body had held up so well up to this point.

"So be it. Buzzsaw, help me eliminate our old friend," said Megatron. Megatron fired his riot cannon, causing Optimus to be forced back to the door. Buzzsaw ceased trying to laser his way into the central chamber and began opening fire on Optimus as well. Optimus's new body was taking the hits, but he could not respond with his own weapon.

"Now, you see your mistake. It is too late for you, of course," said Megatron.

Optimus focused his energy and generated the energy axe again.

Megatron held back for a moment. "What do you think you are going to do with that?" he asked.

"Just this," said Optimus and he swung the axe…right into the door behind him. The door split open and Kup rushed in, followed by Wheeljack. Kup opened fire on Megatron and Wheeljack fired on Buzzsaw. Once Optimus recovered himself, he withdrew his axe and returned to using his rifle. He nailed Buzzsaw, forcing the deployer to retreat to Soundwave. Then he and Kup concentrated their fire on Megatron's riot cannon. The cannon was rendered useless, and Megatron was almost trapped. A decision had to be made.

"Soundwave, give my command to withdraw to Kaon. We will try this again. As for you, Optimus, I will crush you with my bare hands!" yelled Megatron.

Soundwave fired a hole into the ceiling and the two escaped, leaving Optimus, Kup, and Wheeljack looking through the hole in the ceiling. They heard a door open and the three saw the newly liberated Sentinel Prime.

"Very good, soldier. I do not believe we have met. Which of my guardians are you?" he asked Optimus.

"None of them, I am the archivist Orion Pax. Or I was. Now I am Optimus. I have no caste to call my own," said Optimus.

"A conundrum, then. You who have saved me are an outcast by our traditions and laws. A criminal, even. Yet you have me at a disadvantage, since I am in your debt. What do you plan to do now?" asked Sentinel Prime.

"I will fight the Decepticons. They have amassed great force to overthrow you and install their own version of dictatorship. I will advocate for freedom. It is your choice whether you will have me or my friends with you," said Optimus.

"A dangerous statement, and one I do not think you would make lightly," said Sentinel Prime. "Still, this may be an extreme situation and those sometimes call for extreme solutions."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Optimus.


	10. Awakening

A few hours later there was a grand platform built in the main square of Iacon. Sentinel Prime mounted the steps to some cheers but a lot of apprehension. He stood behind the podium that he had asked for and made sure that he was facing the transmitters that would broadcast his voice and image everywhere on the planet.

"My fellow Autobots it seems that we are in danger once again. A power hungry gladiator named Megatron has raised the old Decepticons and may have augmented his ranks with other rogues from our glorious and peaceful system. As in times of old, the guardian caste and the great guardian robots will do our best to protect the livelihood of all Cybertronians.

The enemy is one we have seen before, our military minded brothers who we had to pacify in the war of transformation. Today's threat is newer and smarter. They too can transform, and they will surely take advantage of their ability to fly. In my day of the Second Cybertronian War we did not face a threat like this. New threats call for new response.

To restore law and order on our planet, I, Sentinel Prime declare that every Autobot of every caste will be eligible for conscription into the war effort to fight the evil force of the Decepticons. When they are destroyed or defeated, then we will once again build a real just society. Ordinarily I would need a 2/3 vote of the council to do authorize conscription, but since Megatron and his bandits have murdered the Council, I have no choice to act unilaterally. I will reconstitute the Council from the available guardians at the soonest opportunity.

This will not be an easy struggle, but we have been victorious before. We shall be so again. With the will of Primus to guide us, all things are possible. Til All Are One!" spoke Sentinel Prime to the crowd. The crowd broke out in cheers, though many did not know why they were cheering. Some thought war sounded like fun, better than their caste roles. Others simply liked to be in the presence of the strong will of Sentinel Prime.

A pink figure approached another Autobot who was watching from a portico of a building. He seemed to be staying out of the square purposely. She came up beside him and leaned against him slightly.

"You seem pleased. I don't know why, he left the caste system in place and promised to restore it when the war was over," said Elita One.

"He may have said that, but Sentinel Prime has unleased forces even he cannot control. The minute he arms the lower castes and they become soldiers, the caste system will be dead. Maybe not in name, but once those Autobots become veterans…even Sentinel will realize that they deserve rights. Megatron was right about one thing, war will destroy the caste system. It will just do it in a far more subtle way than he envisioned," said Optimus, with as much of a smile as his face plate could muster.

"What about us?" asked Elita One.

"Sentinel Prime created the Wrecker Special Task Force. He offered me command, but I turned him down in favor of Ultra Magnus. He enrolled Topspin, Twintwist, Roadbuster, Kup, and Wheeljack into the unit. That is the model of the future, a group of mixed castes succeeding because they pool their talents and fight hard. If they gain glory or victory, it will be because of merit- not when their spark came on line," said Optimus.

"I know, Ultra Magnus offered me a spot. I turned him down…and that is not what I was asking, anyway," said Elita One, modulating her voice.

"That surprises me. I thought you would have made a good Wrecker. Particularly how you handled Shockwave and his…" started Optimus.

"I wanted to be where you were," interrupted Elita One.

"I don't know why…" started Optimus.

"Still not sure of your own feelings, archivist? I swear there are times I wonder how you ever managed to detect anything from Flareup," spoke another deeper voice. Alpha Trion emerged to join them on the portico.

"Alpha Trion, sir. It is good to see you again," said Optimus.

"So it is. I can see the forge did not remove that innate innocence of yours. So be it. I will tell you what Elita One has been hinting at. Elita loves you, Optimus. She does not how you will react, and frankly, you don't know either. My advice is, don't fight it. I know there are still some issues from Flareup and this caste nonsense.

War and suffering are coming soon enough, perhaps they are already here. Life, even for one of the Thirteen, is too short not to find happiness in it. If honor is overriding your judgment, there will be plenty of time for honor. Sentinel Prime is not going to let you sit on the sidelines just because you turned down the Wrecker command. Take your chances to enjoy life. After all, what good is this freedom you claim to cherish if you merely make yourself a slave to your concerns and cares?

Elita needs to hear the truth from you, Optimus. But not from me, from YOU. So here is what you are going to do. You have one last appointment with Hoist. Go deal with him and then return. Then you should be ready to tell Elita," said Alpha Trion.

Optimus once more retraced the steps to the prison complex. He entered the facility and was not accosted as a criminal, but given respect in the faces of the guards that he passed. He entered the interrogation chamber and there in the chair across from him was the green form of Hoist.

"So you remembered," said Hoist.

"I still have my honor," said Optimus.

"That's good, but I supposed you have learned that honor by itself is not enough," said Hoist. He was surprised he was not getting jittery around this new hero. It felt just like he was still talking to Orion again.

"Yes, honor and freedom are my virtues, but what you do with them is important. A code by itself is lifeless, it is we who give it life. It is we who must live," said Optimus.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Hoist.

"I will fight Megatron and his need for power. I will protect my fellow Autobots and use my faculties to help us find peace again. This is no time to return to the archives or the dockyard," said Optimus.

"And for yourself. Your personal journey, what steps will you take next in that?" asked Hoist.

"I will try to appreciate those around me more. There is much I can learn from Alpha Trion, Ultra Magnus, and…" Optimus' voice trailed off.

"And?" asked Hoist.

"…Elita One," finished Optimus.

"Well, then I think we are finished here. I wish you luck, Optimus. I would be happy to serve with you in the coming war if that happens," said Hoist. He stood up and Optimus did to. Hoist shook his hand and watched him leave.

Hoist thought about how far Optimus had come and wondered about the issue at the beginning of it all. What had changed him? Had he changed? Would Optimus have become the same person if the Flareup issue had never come to light? Or would he be in the archives, clinging to his code of honor ignored by the world?

Who had changed him? Was it Elita One? Megatron? Alpha Trion? Hoist himself? Had Optimus changed himself the most? Was it the prison? The parole? The dockyard? The arena? The forge? Hoist let it go. He too could now leave the prison and not look back. Besides this room was dark, so dark…

"Hoist! Hoist! Are you there?" asked a voice, that Hoist knew to be Grapple's.

"Yes, I am here, Grapple," answered Hoist, aware that he was restrained in a stasis pod.

"Ah good, you are okay. Perceptor! He's okay," said Grapple.

"How long have I been out?" asked Hoist.

"Bout 4 million years give or take," said Grapple. "I smuggled you to the Cybertronian underground where Red Alert put you in a stasis pod. We found a Decepticon ship and escaped to the planet of Junk once we got our bearings right."

"Planet of Junk?" asked Hoist.

"Yes, that's where we are now. Perceptor has built a radio generator to see where Optimus is," said Grapple.

"Optimus is with Elita One," said Hoist.

"Not hardly, dear Hoist. Elita One is on Cybertron with the resistance, if they are still alive. Optimus left in the Ark a long time ago, about the same time you got hurt," said Grapple.

Hoist was let out of the restraints. He looked around him to see many faces. Some he knew and some he did not know. He looked them up and down and then said, "Does somebody need a medic?"

_The story here links back into the last scene of the Path of Omega Supreme._


End file.
